DCU Comic Book Reviews

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #27

Eye Of The Beholder, Part One

October 2008

Written by Peter J. Tomasi

Pencils by Luke Ross

Inks by Fabio Laguna

Cover by Rodolfo Migliari

Synopsis

On Oa, Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner prepare for the opening night of the new restaurant.  At the crypt of the Green Lantern Corps, Morro prepares to inter Bzzd when Lantern Saarek interrupts.  Saarek claims he was invited; he claims he can talk to the dead.  Saarek tells Morro that the dead are afraid of what is to come.  Meanwhile, Guy and Kyle celebrate a successful opening night.  In Sector 3590, an unknown intruder threatens the life of the inhabitants of that sector.  On a moon near Oa, Killowog and Kyle are training recruits.  Soranik Natu stops by for a visit on her way from the veteran’s hospital. Suddenly, it starts to rain....eyeballs.  Natu examines the eyes and determines it belongs to a relative of various Lantern rookies.  Then Saarek arrives and based on what the dead tell him, is able to generate a visual of the killer.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

Despite the fact that this issue essentially serves three different masters, Tomasi manages to make it all fit together into a cohesive story.  This was a good issue, showcasing Tomasi’s strength as a writer of characters (much like his Nightwing run) rather than plots.

The first master is the cool down issue between story arcs, as the action and plot take a back seat to some decent character moments, seen here between Kyle and Guy (and Kyle and Soranik), the opening of Warriors, and even Killowog’s training session.  The interaction of Kyle and Guy is handled well here, reminding me of the times when they would hang out (along with Alan and John) at the Warriors on Earth.  However, I am unsure about the flirting between Kyle and Soranik.  Part of me likes the idea of a romance between the two, but with Kyle involved, you just know it is going to end badly and, dammit, I like Natu. 

The second master is the overall Blackest Night storyline that is slowly building towards the beginning in 2009.  The brief scene in the crypt, while also serving to call back to the previous story, helps to set the mood for Blackest Night and perhaps a little foreshadowing of Saarek’s role in the story. 

The third, and final master, is the new plot development, with the falling eyeballs and murder of Lantern-related people.  Tomasi correctly allows the other elements dominate the issue before settling into the new plot so that when we get to the end, this part of this issue is on our minds when we get to the next issue. 

Who is that supposed to be at the end?  It looks a little bit like Morro, but the mouth is a little different than what we see in the earlier sections.  Given the likeness, that would suggest Marrg, Morro’s brother.  Given the Saarek specifically mentions Marrg, I am inclined to think this might be the case.  Except, and isn’t that the case, Saarek passes along a message from Marrg that is loving, which is against what he might’ve done later.  Of course, Saarek just happened to be there when the eyeballs fell and since he was the one who provided the picture, perhaps Saarek is behind it all.  Hmm, interesting idea. 

The most curious scene is the one in which Guy pulls out a drawing that Kyle had done from the trash.  The drawing shows a Green Lantern torn in half.  Is this a touch of post traumatic syndrome going on, or is there something more going on.  The moment is very subtle, with Kyle’s actions in the background of the dialogue.  I get the feeling this might be a plot-point that will drag out for several months before we even begin to understand what is going on.

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